history of Christian Education I

In another instance Christians are referred to as being the new Israel, the people of God,

a peculiar nation, a kingdom of priests, etc, titles that were used to refer to Jews as

God's nation in the Old Testament (I Pet. 2:9). Further, the link between the Old and

New Testament religious education can be deduced from the fact that New Testament

writers as well as Jesus Himself, used the Old Testament to teach about the way of

salvation. They interpreted the Old Testament in the light of the new covenant as

embodied in Jesus Christ. The two Testaments are clearly inseparable.

Briefly, Christian education is rooted in Judaism, for it arises from the Judaeo religious

history. It is not possible to understand Christian education fully without going back to

its Jewish roots in the Old Testament. J. Ottis Sayes (1978:35) argues that any study of

Christian education should begin with Jewish education, especially in the Old Testament

times, because Christianity has to date, retained much of its Hebrew heritage. It may

rightly be called "Transformed Judaism."

The teaching ministry (religious education) in the Old Testament begins with God as

the Teacher. The God who is a Teacher Himself commands Moses to teach the Israelites

His laws, statutes and commands. Moses not only teaches those laws, but he in turn,

commands Israelites to teach their children about God (Deutoronomy 6: 1-9). Along with

God and Moses, the Old Testament further portrays Jewish parents, priests, prophets,

sages (wisemen) and Scribes (Rabbis) as teachers within the Jewish context of

relationship with God.

5.2.2 God as Teacher

Religious education begins with God, not humans. It is as we begin with God that we

shall know what to do with education (Hayes, 1991:42). Byrne (in Hayes, 1991 :32)

scored a point when he said, "The fundamental thought underlying nearly everything

that we would want to say about Christian education is that God is the teacher. It is He

who establishes all truth; it is He who wills that men shall know the truth. He gives us